FRENCH GARDENS: LATER 17TH AND i8th CENTURIES 133 



fountain basins bor- 

 dered with little 

 gilded cupids. The 

 principal basin, known 

 as the Plafond, lies in 

 front of the chateau 

 and is guarded by 

 marine monsters. But 

 the chief water feature 

 is the buff-et d'eaii, 

 designed by Mansart, 

 consisting of steps 

 of variously coloured 

 marble with gilt 

 figures and reliefs. 



Considerably more than half the environs of Paris within fifteen miles 

 of the city, comprising all the finest sites, were given up to the immense parks 

 and gardens of Louis XIV and XV and their courts. Delagrive's map of the 

 environs of Paris, published in 1754, gives an excellent idea of the vast 



THE GRAND TRIANON. 



GARDEN HOUSE IX Till: I'LIIT 



